The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
This is one of the basic dividing lines of the two basic approaches to American politics. The Right emphasizes “not delegated to the United States by the Constitution” and “are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”.
The Left emphasizes “prohibited byit to the States.” Therein lies the dilemma.
Article I, Section 8, gives Congress power “To regulate Commerce . . . among the several states.”
OK, so here’s the thing. I usually praise Medicaid for being subsidiarist, even while I express frustration that one can’t get medical care in another state if one is on Medicaid.
It occurred to me today, and this is just a little change in thought, as subsidiarity and the question of not trusting federal power in general still come into play, but I’m wondering if the Constitutional argument against government run health care is really valid, since health care is most definitely an interstate commerce issue in our society.
For example, if Medicaid were transferable out of state, I could have taken the girls and gone to Johns Hopkins by now.
The Lewis Crusade 